Chapter Text
They say when you stare death in the face, time feels like its standing still.
I can now say that is completely true.
It honestly felt like hours that I crouched beside that dumpster, staring at the wearer of that dark blue scuffed coat hanging around his frame, the dirt marked white V-neck shirt, and muddy black boots. However, I think I stared most at his skin.
It was even worse in person.
Wrinkled and on the precipice of rotting, attached to living skin with actual staples, it was hard to look at Dabi and not acknowledge that he was essentially a living zombie.
How was he even alive?
Yet saying that, how was any of this really possible?
Heroes, villains, quirks? This used to be a work of fiction at one point in history, and now it was my very real life.
I was frozen in place, unable to move even as he took a warning step towards me, almost as if to test what my next actions would be and assess me. When I didn’t move, he rolled his heavy hooded eyelids.
“And here I thought you were going to be fun,” he smirked, just before lowering his gaze to the part of the floor I was occupying. His hands become doused with his blue violent flames, fear causing my body to become even more cemented in place.
I was going to die.
“It’s nothing personal,” Dabi said to me, shrugging as his flames swiftly ran down his arms to his body, legs and to the floor, then steadily spreading towards me. “But I was ordered to leave no witnesses.”
The fire reached my feet in less than a second as I screamed, raising my hands to shield my face. The flames began igniting my shoes, tights, and scorching my checked skirt and blazer. Dabi smiled sinisterly as his fire began consuming my being, clothes turning to ash, bag disintegrating.
That was until the flames stopped.
“Well,” he mused, shifting his weight to rest his hands on his hips. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Lowering my arms, tatters of burnt clothes fell from my titanium arms to the ground, burning away completely before hitting the concrete. There I was, unscathed, untouched, unharmed. Even I looked at myself in disbelief- I hadn’t trained in so long I didn’t think my quirk would have been able to react so fast to his attack, and nonetheless with such a high-powered transformation.
“Titanium,” Dabi announced, reaching his hands behind his head as he watched me slowly get to my feet and stand. “One of the few metals that can withstand the heat of my flames.”
Thankfully, he’d stopped his flames instead of letting them burn up all the flammable materials on my body, since my bra and most of my shorts I’d been wearing underneath my skirt above my tights were still intact. I clenched my fists and stared at the villain straight on.
“Every quirk has its weakness,” I told him confidently, narrowing my eyes. I knew I had a small chance of getting out of here alive, so I needed to make sure I came across as a strong-willed opponent to fend him off. I knew my quirk wouldn’t be able to withstand many more high energy transformations, especially against someone extremely powerful like Dabi. Not having trained properly in years meant I was rusty, but he wasn’t aware of that. As long as I came across confident, he’d suspect nothing less.
“I’ve not seen you before,” he said after a few moments, pressing his thumb and forefinger to his temples and rubbing them. “But dressed like that, or at least before I burnt most of your attire off, I assume you aren’t some hero?”
I didn’t answer him. He was currently unable to assess how hard the situation before him was, and whilst I knew that he would be able to kill me with no more than 3 similar moves like before, he was still ignorant to this.
I just needed to stall enough to get away. That, or distract him.
“Touya!”
Bingo!
Dabi’s attention shifted angrily to the shrill voice calling to him from the entrance of the alleyway for a split second, enough for me to dash for it. He reached his hands out to grab me, but with my head start I evaded his grasp and ran down towards where Himoko Toga stood pouting, knife clutched in her hand by her thigh. She saw me running towards her, Dabi’s flames not far behind, and reached out to cut me. Instinctively I ducked, her blade slicing only inches above my head and cutting a few lose strands of hair right off. That could have been my neck if I wasn’t somewhat trained in close combat.
Before Toga could make her next move, I crouched and sprung for the brick wall, my body transforming into rubber on impact. I immediately bounced at a high speed right off the wall right around Toga’s attack, the spring sound ricocheting in the alleyway as my body transformed back to normal in time for me to land and begin sprinting. Without looking back to the two villains chasing me, I speeded down the street as fast as I could away from them and the still ongoing fight.
I could hear them shouting after me but the adrenaline just kept running, the sounds of my feet slapping against the concrete so loud I knew they’d be bleeding by the time I reached safety. I kept running and running, not stopping for anyone, even as I began to find safety and reach normality where people were going on about their daily business. I’d run for so long and so far, I’d completely outrun the fight scene that the people here weren’t even aware of anything remotely wrong. Even the storm that had been threatening to break earlier was gone, only clear skies to be seen.
I didn’t know how long I’d been running for, but I didn’t really recognise this part of town. The buildings were clean, everyone was well dressed, and it looked really modern. Regardless, it seemed safe enough that I slowed to a stop, immediately wishing I hadn’t when pain shot up from my feet through my calves and lower abdomen.
If only my quirk worked on self-inflicted pains.
I doubled over as I finally took some time to catch my breath, holding onto a streetlamp pole for support. I heaved as if I’d never had oxygen before. I didn’t even have the strength to move when a hand unexpectedly touched on my shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
Taking one last deep breath, I lifted my head to be met with tanned slacks, a black shirt and red feathers. Then my eyes rested on the person’s face, one I knew not just from recent TV or the news, but from my own bedroom wall’s posters.
Hawks… more recently revealed to be named Keigo Takami.
“Hawks,” I breathed, looking bewildered at the very hero who’d cancelled his interview this morning, resulting in the beginning of a so far very bad day. Not only that, but as well as holding the title of Number 2 Hero, he was also being branded as a ‘traitor’ and ‘murderer’.
What else was today going to throw at me.
However, in that moment, the news headlines didn’t bother me. I smacked his arm then folded mine across my chest.
“You cancelled on my boss this morning!” I told him fiercely.
He cocked his head to the side slightly, concern over his face despite his slight smile. Those around use were beginning to take notice of us, more Hawks than me, but I think some were shocked by my outfit or lack of. Some people were even beginning to take photos. I instinctively raised my arms to cover myself. Hawks took note of this and quickly his feathers began to surround me, forming into a blanket that I was able to wrap around my almost naked body.
“Sorry, do I know you?” He asked, holding his hand to shield his face from some of the smartphones pointed in his direction. Before he ate public attention up, whereas now it was a completely different story.
Realising even to him I must be coming across a bit crazy; I shook my head. I then pointed the way I’d come.
“I had a run in with some villains,” I breathed, holding my hand up to ask him to allow me to explain further. “It’s mostly the lesser wanted villains from the Paranormal Liberation Front, and they’re fighting with some of the kids from UA. However, Dabi and Toga were there, and he burnt a man alive.”
Hawks’ face immediately darkened. He pulled his phone from his pocket, pressed on the screen a few times before lifting it to his ear.
“I know where he is, but I need you to go ahead, and I’ll join you there. Okay, I’ll text you the location.”
He ended the call, typed out a text and hit send, then pocketed his phone before turning his attention to me.
“Can I take you to a hospital at all?”